Marist Fathers

The Marist Fathers

Chanel College

Fr. Jean-Claude Colin, founder of the Marist Fathers

The Marists had been in Coolock since they established Chanel College in 1954,but in 1993 they were invited by the Archbishop to run the parish. They brought a spirit of renewal, which can be seen in their ambitious building programme. Their first task was to re-roof the church, which although only twenty years old was suffering from damp. As part of the project, a beautiful baptistery was added which incorporated stained glass from the old church (see this illustrated at the top of chapter 8).

The Marists also rebuilt the priests house: it is now not only a comfortable presbytery, but it includes an oratory and a number of meeting rooms. More ambitious still was the decision to convert the old church into a parish centre. A 'Hall Committee' was formed and with the help of imaginative architects (Paul Arnold) the cold and damp disused church was converted into a facility of which the parishioners are justifiably very proud. It contains not only meeting rooms and offices, but a magnificent assembly room/hall, which is used for a variety of parish and community activities.